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Classic JRPG combat meets action packed dungeons and stylish storytelling. Use skills and strategy to survive a lush, brutal landscape. If you missed the campaign, you can still contribute on Battlechasers.com!

Battle Chasers: Nightwar

$856,354

14,175

Battle Chasers: Nightwar is an RPG inspired by the classic console greats, featuring deep dungeon diving, turn-based combat presented in a classic JRPG format, and tons of secrets, story and randomly-generated replay goodness.

Nightwar is currently planned for release on PC and Mac, both on Steam and DRM-free on GoG, as well as Xbox One and PS4.(Look for other platforms to possibly show up in our stretch goals!)

The game is being created by ex-Vigil Games veterans, including two of Vigil's co-founders, Joe Madureira and Ryan Stefanelli.

Like the greats that came before, the soundtrack will be something special.

Digital Artist Edition Battle Chasers #10

We are about to drop some additional items to the add-on store, one of which will be an awesome new pencils-only "artist edition" of Battle Chasers #10, featuring a full book of Joe's beautiful and uncolored pencil work. This new add on is now automatically included in the COMPLETE DIGITAL EDITION and above! So if you've pledge for the Complete Digital tier or beyond, you're already covered. The digital book is yours when released!

New Tier - Signed Battle Chasers #10

Those keeping an eye on the page may have noticed a new tier with a signed copy of Battle Chasers #10. This book is also included in the Landmark Edition and above! Unfortunately we can't edit the tier descriptions to reflect this, but if you were one of these supporters, you will now also get this signed book!

Joe Mad Originals!

Darksiders Crossover Exclusive!

In partnership with our friends at Nordic Games, and for our Kickstarter backers only - a unique weapon skin for Garrison featuring the one and only CHAOSEATER from Darksiders! Every backer will get one, and ONLY our backers.

Special shout out to Nordic Games for doing this for our fans!

Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a love letter to one of our favorite genres of gaming: the JRPG. We grew up playing legends like Final Fantasy, Suikoden, Chrono Trigger, and Phantasy Star. While many greats continue to come from Japan, very few western developers are creating them.

With your help, we're going to change that.

Plan for survival. The desolate town of Harm's Way is your only place to prepare. Choose three of the many heroes you've unlocked, fill your travel backpack with items from your stash, make sure you've chosen the best equipment and abilities for each hero... and then strike out.

Non-linear story driven by the discovery of lore on items, landmarks and secret elements in the world. Discovering these will both provide deeper insight into the mysterious Lost Vale, and also reward lore points, which are used to upgrade the heroes' different abilities

Truly key story moments will be depicted in gorgeous, traditional 2D animation from Powerhouse Animation Studios. For these, sit back and enjoy.

The Lost Continent

The Grey Line. An impenetrable wall of mist hovering over the West Waters, stretching endless from north to south, and towering from ocean crest to dark sky above.

Nothing has ever come from, or survived entering, the historic monolith.
The great hero Aramus felt a calling from the Grey Line and crossed, despite the dangers. And like countless warriors, vagabonds, fugitives and fortune seekers before him, never returned.
Now, his daughter Gully and her unlikely band of adventurers venture into the mist to uncover her father’s mission.

Along the way they'll meet friend and foe alike while piecing together the silent history of the Grey Line, and the dark secrets within.

Learn a bit about the heroes of Battle Chasers!

The turn-based combat in Battle Chasers is inspired by the great JRPGs of years past, with three major features: the Dual Mana system; an Active Initiative Bar with random buffs and debuffs; and momentum-shifting super attacks called Battle Surges.

Abilities

Abilities are unlocked when a hero levels up. Each can eventually unlock more abilities than there are slots to equip them, so choosing can be difficult.

Blue and Red Mana

There are no basic attacks in Nightwar. All abilities either consume mana, or generate red mana.

Blue mana is the core resource pool, with red mana acting as a backup or bonus pool.

If a hero runs out of blue mana, they can generate red mana as a way to perform their most powerful attacks. But red mana can take time to generate, and is lost at the end of a battle. Using it carefully can preserve the core blue mana pool or allow a spent hero to continue fighting.

Each hero reacts to red mana use in a unique way. Garrison's abilities are more effective when using red mana, so building it is encouraged (though his base mana pool is much smaller). Knolan is better off using blue mana and suffers penalties for using red. Calibretto is healed slightly when using red mana.

This is the primary strategy of resource management in Battle Chasers: Nightwar.

Initiative

Key to survival is managing position on the initiative bar. Initiative determines order, but the slots can also appear with randomized effects which activate when a hero performs an action in that slot. These can be beneficial or harmful, and even be based on the environment you're in. Deep swamp? Beware the poisoned gas debuff that may appear on slots.

Abilities have different speeds which affect initiative position, making it possible to strategically position yourself (or your enemy) into a slot that's helpful. This is most important in the highest dungeon difficulties.

Dungeons are a random arrangement of hand-crafted rooms, overflowing with traps, treasure, puzzles and lore. Monsters are visible on the map and exhibit unique behaviors when aggressive.

Randomness and Rarities

Return to a dungeon after successfully surviving once, and the option to change the difficulty is unlocked. This increases the difficulty as well as the reward... and the chance for rare artifacts and NPCs to appear.

Beating each dungeon on the highest difficulty setting is the only way to truly see everything Nightwar has to offer.

Surviving

Prepare carefully before entering a dungeon. Death means losing everything not equipped on your characters. And when every dark corner leads to another menacing creature or lethal trap, death may not be so infrequent.

Not all is so bleak. Every dungeon has a single rest point, where you are given the chance to replenish all your resources and stash a few items for safekeeping, so they aren't lost upon death.

You can do this once per dungeon. Good luck.

Dungeon Skills

Fortunately each hero is equipped with a unique assortment of dungeon skills to aid in the adventure. These skills include the basic but necessary - lock picking, treasure finding, and dashing - to the less ordinary: invisibility, teleportation, blinding and more.

Lore

Everything from landmarks to torn scraps of paper have a story to tell in Nightwar. Finding these will reveal more and more layers of the narrative, but they also provide lore points of varying value, which are used to upgrade abilities on the heroes.

Key Cutscenes & Traditional Animation

Key moments will be depicted with killer 2D animation from Powerhouse Animation Studios. It's the Battle Chasers heroes like you've never seen them before!

Abilities

Abilities unlock as heroes level up. Players can choose which abilities a hero leaves town with, however the slots are limited so choices will be difficult and based on overall party makeup.

Perks

Perks award passive bonuses and are arranged in a tree. As players move into a new tier of the perk tree, ability slots are unlocked.

Perk points can be earned a number of ways: leveling up, finding rare lore relics, and as rewards for killing rare bosses to name a few.

Armor and Weapons

The world is littered with rare and powerful items. Weapons, armor, trinkets, and more are dropped in combat, found in chests, or found tucked away in dark and powerful corners of the world.. Vendors, some rare and hidden, can offer up some of the most powerful wares.

The Legendary Comic Series continues!

You thought it would never happen. So did we.
Alongside the release of Battle Chasers: Nightwar, new issues of the classic comic series will continue where the story left off.

Written and drawn by original series creator Joe Madureira, these new books mark his long-anticipated return to the most cherished and iconic work of his career.

Steve was one of Vigil's first hires, where he instantly proved himself invaluable as an animator. He worked on almost all of the bosses in Darksiders, so if you were cursing and throwing your controller, you can partially blame him.

Brooks has a long history in programming, having written entire game engines from scratch and performing as a lead programmer on Vigil's MMO, Dark Millennium online. His first company, Professor Fog's Workshop, gave Ryan his break into the industry - hiring him as an intern over 15 years ago.

Jesse was an environment artist at Vigil before heading to Digital Extremes to further cut his teeth on Warframe. He rejoins his old comrades at Airship to help make our "moving concept art" philosophy a reality.

Our history working together allows us to develop games instinctively, making quality stuff quickly.

We love this stuff.

Why We're On Kickstarter

Every member of the Airship team has shipped big, AAA titles, many from soup to nuts. We understand the trials and tribulations of game development at every stage.

What you are funding here is the core experience for Battle Chasers: Nightwar; the foundation for a great RPG. We hope that by reaching our true fans and hitting through some stretch goals, we can take the game even further.

We've gotten this far using a combination of our own sweat equity, personal investment dollars, and some savvy angel investment. So you aren't paying for the entire thing: we've already put a lot in.

We've had faith from day one that our team, plus support from our fans, can take us across the finish line. We believe the goal of true independence can become a reality through the power of Kickstarter.

Delivering a great game to our backers will always be the number one goal, however. And should there be unexpected challenges, we have a number of options at our disposal, including taking on more investment or a even a publisher. We will do whatever we must, without ego, to make good on our promise and reward your support.

Special Thanks!

Nordic Games: Caretakers of the beloved Darksiders franchise. We can't wait for DS3!

Software Sandbox: The next great thing for ambitious indies that want to run their own show!

How Do Add Ons Work?

Add up the total of your selections (plus shipping if it applies)

Click "Manage Your Pledge" in the upper right corner (blue button)

Add the total of your Add Ons to your pledge amount. You don't need to change the tier you've selected

You are done! Later you'll get a backer survey asking how you spent your add-on dollars and for other pertinent info, such as t-shirt size.

Thank you!

All game content is subject to final review and revision by Airship Syndicate Entertainment, Inc.

All trademarks and copyrights are property of their respective owners

Darksiders is a registered trademark of Nordic Games

Risks and challenges

If you've come this far, you've probably backed projects on Kickstarter before and read a number of these "risks and challenges" blurbs. So we'll keep it short: making games is a creative business where nailing "fun" is a subjective art form rather than exact science. Change is a natural and necessary part of building a game, and with change during development comes inherent risk.

How do we mitigate these risks? By leaning on our experience. We've made games before, games much larger than this one, and understand when change is necessary and when it isn't. We've been through the exercise of finishing a game and taking things the last mile - and while no one can ever guarantee success in game development (let alone any business), we've done this before. And we believe with your support, we'll do it again.

Support

Select this reward

Pledge US$ 5 or more
About US$ 5

- BATTLE BACKER -

For supporting us, you'll get your name in the "Hall of Citizens" credits on Battlechasers.com, project updates, and an EXCLUSIVE WALLPAPER SET
featuring the art of Joe Madureria. And our deepest thanks, of course!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 20 or more
About US$ 20

- CRAZY EARLY BACKER DIGITAL EDITION -

Welcome to the great adventure!

For supporting us on Kickstarter, you'll get a digital copy of Battle Chasers: Nightwar on your choice of available platforms; Access to any beta-level events we do; a digital instruction manual; a Battle Runner forum badge, and your name upgraded to the Hall of Heroes on Battlechasers.com!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 25 or more
About US$ 25

- EARLY BACKER DIGITAL EDITION -

Welcome to the great adventure!

For supporting us on Kickstarter, you'll get a digital copy of Battle Chasers: Nightwar on your choice of available platforms; Access to any beta-level events we do; a digital instruction manual; a Battle Runner forum badge, and your name upgraded to the Hall of Heroes on Battlechasers.com!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 27 or more
About US$ 27

- LATE BIRD BACKER DIGITAL EDITION -

Welcome to the great adventure!

For supporting us on Kickstarter, you'll get a digital copy of Battle Chasers: Nightwar on your choice of available platforms; Access to any beta-level events we do; a digital instruction manual; a Battle Runner forum badge, and your name upgraded to the Hall of Heroes on Battlechasers.com!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 30 or more
About US$ 30

- BATTLE BACKER DIGITAL EDITION -

Welcome to the great adventure!

For supporting us on Kickstarter, you'll get a digital copy of Battle Chasers: Nightwar on your choice of available platforms; Access to any beta-level events we do; a digital instruction manual; a Battle Runner forum badge, and your name upgraded to the Hall of Heroes on Battlechasers.com!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 40 or more
About US$ 40

- SPECIAL NIGHTWAR DIGITAL EDITION -

Delve further into the Battle Chasers world!

For supporting us on Kickstarter, you'll get a digital copy of Battle Chasers: Nightwar on your choice of available platforms; Access to any beta-level events we do; a digital instruction manual; a Battle Runner forum badge, and your name upgraded to the Hall of Heroes on Battlechasers.com!

ALSO includes digital comic book editions of the classic Battle Chasers #1, #2 and #3; a digital edition of the Battle Chasers: Nightwar art book, and an Explorer's Item Pack which includes a few potions and trinkets to spice up your experience.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 55 or more
About US$ 55

- DELUXE NIGHTWAR DIGITAL EDITION -

Includes a copy of Battle Chasers: Nightwar on your choice of available platforms; Beta event access; a digital instruction manual; a Battle Runner forum badge and your name in the Hall of Heroes on Battlechasers.com.

ALSO includes digital editions of the classic Battle Chasers #1 thru #6; a digital edition of the Battle Chasers: Nightwar art book; the Explorer's Item Pack; and a digital copy of the Nightwar Original Soundtrack.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 70 or more
About US$ 70

- SUPREME NIGHTWAR DIGITAL EDITION -

Takes the already-packed DELUXE edition, and adds digital issues of Battle Chasers #7, #8 and #9 to complete the collection; a Deluxe Digital Instruction manual with additional art, info and a few hidden tips; an ultra-HD digital world map and a PALADIN forum badge!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 90 or more
About US$ 90

- [EARLY BIRD] COMPLETE NIGHTWAR DIGITAL EDITION -

The ultimate digital compendium of all-things Battle Chasers. Starts with the DELUXE edition and adds digital issues of the upcoming and all-new Battle Chasers #10, #11 and #12 as they are released; a digital compendium of Nightwar design notes and behind the scenes info; an extended Battle Chasers: Nightwar original soundtrack including roughs and B-Sides; and your name upgraded to the HALL OF LEGENDS on Battlechasers.com.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 100 or more
About US$ 100

- COMPLETE NIGHTWAR DIGITAL EDITION -

The ultimate digital compendium of all-things Battle Chasers. Starts with the DELUXE edition and adds digital issues of the upcoming and all-new Battle Chasers #10, #11 and #12 as they are released; a digital compendium of Nightwar design notes and behind the scenes info; an extended Battle Chasers: Nightwar original soundtrack including roughs and B-Sides; and your name upgraded to the HALL OF LEGENDS on Battlechasers.com.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $525 or more
About $525

- MINI SKETCHY EDITION -

Own a unique piece of Joe Mad original art!

Includes one Ultimate Collector's Edition, and adds:

A unique 3x5" sketch card signature from Joe Mad featuring a totally unique, hand drawn sketch of a random Battle Chasers: Nightwar character (see sample card on page for an example), personalized to you and shipped to your door.

Also includes one gift copy of Battle Chasers: Nightwar for available platforms; your name upgraded to the Hall of Commanders on Battlechasers,com, and access to any ALPHA level events we do for the game!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $550 or more
About $550

- SKETCHY EDITION -

Own a unique piece of Joe Mad original art!

Includes one Ultimate Collector's Edition, and adds:

A unique 5x7" sketch card signature from Joe Mad featuring a totally unique, hand drawn sketch of a random Battle Chasers: Nightwar character (see sample card on page for an example), personalized to you and shipped to your door.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $650 or more
About $650

- ENCORE SKETCHY EDITION -

Own a unique piece of Joe Mad original art!

Includes one Ultimate Collector's Edition, and adds:

A unique 5x7" sketch card signature from Joe Mad featuring a totally unique, hand drawn sketch of a random Battle Chasers: Nightwar character (see sample card on page for an example), personalized to you and shipped to your door.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $850 or more
About $850

- LAST CALL SKETCHY EDITION -

Own a unique piece of Joe Mad original art!

Includes one Ultimate Collector's Edition, and adds:

A unique 5x7" sketch card signature from Joe Mad featuring a totally unique, hand drawn sketch of a random Battle Chasers: Nightwar character (see sample card on page for an example), personalized to you and shipped to your door.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

- LANDMARK EDITION -

Become a permanent part of the Battle Chasers world!

Includes one Ultimate Collector's Edition, and adds:

Your name etched onto a landmark in the world of Battle Chasers: Nightwar. When players click on on the landmark, they'll be treated to a few paragraphs about your "history", plus LORE rewards they can use to upgrade their characters!

A unique 5x7" sketch card signature from Joe Mad featuring a totally unique, hand drawn sketch of a random Battle Chasers: Nightwar character (see sample card on page for an example), personalized to you and shipped to your door.
Your 11x17 Nightwar print signed by the Airship Syndicate dev team, including Joe Mad.

Also includes one gift copy of Battle Chasers: Nightwar for PC/Mac, your name upgraded to the Hall of Commanders on Battlechasers,com, and access to any ALPHA level events we do for the game!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,150 or more
About $1,150

- *NEW* INKED SKETCHY EDITION -

Own a unique piece of Joe Mad original art!

Includes one Ultimate Collector's Edition, and adds:

A unique, INKED 5x7" sketch card signature from Joe Mad featuring a totally unique, hand drawn sketch of a random Battle Chasers: Nightwar character (see sample card on page for an example), personalized to you and shipped to your door.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,285 or more
About $1,285

- ENCORE! -

- *NEW* INKED SKETCHY EDITION -

Own a unique piece of Joe Mad original art!

Includes one Ultimate Collector's Edition, and adds:

A unique, INKED 5x7" sketch card signature from Joe Mad featuring a totally unique, hand drawn sketch of a random Battle Chasers: Nightwar character (see sample card on page for an example), personalized to you and shipped to your door.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,500 or more
About $1,500

- INSIDER EDITION -

Take a literal peek into the development of games at Airship Syndicate.

Includes one Ultimate Collector's Edition, and adds:

A small bundle of notes and notebooks used by Airship devs during the process of developing Nightwar. Who knows what they'll say, from the mundane to the embarassing. The "cover" to the bundle will be autographed by the team member who used it, with a personal note from Joe Mad included.

Also:

A unique 5x7" sketch card signature from Joe Mad featuring a totally unique, hand drawn sketch of a random Battle Chasers: Nightwar character (see sample card on page for an example), personalized to you and shipped to your door.

Pledge $2,500 or more
About $2,500

You will work directly with a developer on Nightwar to create a four-part story chain depicted through lore items for players to experience, including the rewards given to players along the way!

Your name will be listed in the game credits under "Additional Storytelling".

Also:

UPGRADED SKETCH CARD: A unique 8.5X11 sketch card signature from Joe Mad featuring a totally unique, hand drawn sketch of a character of your choosing (see sample card on page for an example), personalized to you and shipped to your door.

FIVE gift copies of Battle Chasers: Nightwar for PC/Mac to share with your friends, your name upgraded to the Hall of Speakers on Battlechasers,com, and access to any ALPHA level events we do for the game!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $4,000 or more
About $4,000

- ARTIFACT EDITION -

A one-of-a-kind original.

Includes one Ultimate Collector's Edition, and adds:

The original, hand-drawn pencil sketch of a major piece of Battle Chasers: Nightwar concept art, signed and personalized by Joe Mad and carefully delivered to your door. Own a rare (and valuable) piece of Battle Chasers history.

Your name will be listed in the game credits under "Commanding Supporter".

Also:

UPGRADED SKETCH CARD: A unique 8.5X11 sketch card INKED and signed by Joe Mad featuring a totally unique, hand drawn sketch of a character of your choosing (see sample card on page for an example), personalized to you and shipped to your door.

FIVE gift copies of Battle Chasers: Nightwar for PC/Mac to share with your friends, your name upgraded to the Hall of Artifacts on Battlechasers,com, and access to any ALPHA level events we do for the game!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $10,000
About $10,000

- LEGENDARY EDITION -

Work with a legend.

Includes one Ultimate Collector's Edition, and adds:

You will work directly with Joe Madureira to design a creature, set of weapons or important point of interest in Battle Chasers: Nightwar. You will then be given the original hand-drawn artwork for the creation, including any rough sketches that led to the final version, and a personalized thank you note from Joe and the team.

Your name will be listed in the game credits under "Battle Chaser".

Also:

UPGRADED SKETCH CARD: A unique 8.5X11 sketch card signature from Joe Mad featuring a totally unique, hand drawn sketch of a character of your choosing (see sample card on page for an example), personalized to you and shipped to your door.

An invitation to join us at the Battle Chasers: Nightwar wrap party! (Travel and lodging not included).

FIVE gift copies of Battle Chasers: Nightwar for PC/Mac to share with your friends, your name FEATURED in the ultra-exclusive Hall of Chasers on Battlechasers,com, and access to any ALPHA level events we do for the game!